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A strong earthquake in the western Caribbean in 2009 had a catastrophic impact on uncemented, unconsolidated coral reefs in the central sector of the shelf lagoon of the Belizean barrier reef. In a set of 21 reef sites that had been observed prior to the earthquake, the benthic assemblages of 10 were eradicated, and one was partially damaged, by avalanching of their slopes. Ecological dynamics that had played out over the previous 23 years, including the mass mortalities of two sequentially dominant coral species and a large increase in the cover of an encrusting sponge, were instantaneously rendered moot in the areas of catastrophic reef-slope failure. Because these prior dynamics also determined the benthic composition and resilience of adjacent sections of reef that remained intact, the history of disturbance prior to the earthquake will strongly influence decadal-scale recovery in the failed areas. Geological analysis of the reef framework yielded a minimum return time of 2000-4000 years for this type of high-amplitude event. Anthropogenic degradation of ecosystems must be viewed against the backdrop of long-period, natural catastrophes, such as the impact of strong earthquakes on uncemented, lagoonal reefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the mechanism of the species turnover on coral reefs in Belize. Effect of high water temperatures on coral Agaricia tenuifolia; Dominance of Acropora cervicornis in the central shelf lagoon; Characteristic features of coral reefs turnover in the Caribbean region.

Deals with coral bleaching in Belize. Mass mortality of scleractinian corals on lagoonal reefs; Response to high temperature and/or high incident solar radiation; Dominant space-occupier on lagoonal reefs; Degradation of coral reef ecosystems.

Paleontological data suggest that coral populations in the Caribbean were consistently healthy for the past 2-3 k.y. Beginning in the 1980s, however, disease outbreaks, bleaching episodes, hurricanes, and other perturbations caused catastrophic coral mortality and regional turnover. An alternative hypothesis, based on historical sources, posits that coral populations were already declining more than a century ago. These hypotheses can be distinguished only if turnover events are reliably preserved in the Holocene record of coral reefs. Push-cores extracted from uncemented lagoonal reefs in Belize showed that a direct hit by Hurricane Iris in 2001 did not disrupt the signature of the recent turnover event, which entered the subfossil record essentially intact. Cores from lagoonal systems in several areas of the Caribbean do not support the hypothesis that corals declined before the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]